Another Chance
by Ottsel Cath
Summary: SPOILERS FOR THE LAST SEASON. The curse on Nerissa might have been broken, but it doesn't mean it doesn't have consequences, especially on the ones that lost everyhting. What if it gave back what it stole? Three-shot.
1. Part 1

**Another Chance**

* * *

 **I started writing this as a one-shot and then I realized it had lots of material to work with, so I turned it into a two-shot and maybe even a three-shot. This chapter is just the retelling of the parts of the show I took inspiration off of to create the rest of the story.**

* * *

 **Another Chance  
Part 1**

Evie was anxiously waiting in the moon pool to stop Zac from attacking the dragon. He surfaced into the pool with a terrified expression when he noticed Evie. She shouldn't have been there, just like he shouldn't have been there either.

"Evie, what are you doing here?" Zac asked with panic in his voice.

"You can't do this, Zac." Evie said sternly and slightly panicked.

"You need to leave, now." Zac ordered looking back and forth between Evie and the entrance of the moon pool knowing the dragon would be there soon.

Then, they both stared at the entrance and heard a weird sound coming from the water and then some waves in the moon pool.

"What was that?" Evie asked knowing something bad was about to happen.

"The dragon." Zac responded carefully, but he was terrified.

"It's coming. Get behind me." Zac ordered Evie.

After a couple of seconds and a couple of other waves, the dragon appeared in front of them. It was gigantic and almost took the whole pool.

"Come on, hit me." Zac said waiting to use the turning the tide spell Wei Lan had showed him.

The dragon breathed out its blue fire and Zac turned he attack against the dragon easily.

"You can do better than that." He said to the creature.

It breathed out its blue fire again and Zac reversed it again without any troubles. He really got the hang of that spell.

At that point, Evie felt useless, so, as courageous and headstrong as she is, she swam beside Zac with a determined look on her face.

"Leave him alone!" She screamed as she held up her right arm and pointed her moon ring at the dragon. Her ring glowed.

"Evie!" Zac said, but it was too late. The ring lightened up and the dragon reacted immediately by breathing out its blue fire on her. She fell unconscious and under the water. Zac dove after her as soon as it happened to retrieve her from under the water. He would never let her drown even if it meant losing his tail. She no longer had her golden tail and she was back to her human form even if she was in the water. She had lost her tail, forever.

"Evie." Zac said even if the dragon was still there and staring at them. "Talk to me. Evie"

The dragon got closer and closer and Zac anticipated the worst. It seemed like the dragon was smelling Zac, like it tried to analyse and identify him. After a couple of long seconds, it left and did not attack Zac.

"Evie. Wake up. Please." Zac said.

"Evie. Talk to me, please." He repeated as she opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Zac." She exclaimed as she held his shoulders and then hugged him. "What happened? Where's the dragon?"

"It's okay. It's gone." Zac responded to his girlfriend.

Ondina and Mimmi surfaced in the moon pool afterwards with horror spread on their faces as soon as they saw Evie in the water without a tail.

"Evie." Ondina said.

Evie realized Ondina looked panicked and at where her tail used to be. She looked at her legs and it hit her.

"My tail." She said and tears started to roll on her cheeks. Even Zac was crying. She hugged Zac tighter and cried harder.

* * *

Zac and Evie were at the beach behind some rocks to make sure no one would see them to finally talk about what happened to her the night before. Zac was standing on some rocks to avoid water and Evie was walking towards the waves.

She looked at her feet as the water hit them.

"I never thought it would feel so strange; the water between my toes." Evie sadly stated.

"Evie, I'm so sorry." Zac apologized for the hundredth time to his girlfriend. "I didn't mean for this to happen. I was trying to protect you."

"I don't blame you." She reassured him as she turned around to face him. "We both lied to each other."

Evie finished her sentence and turned around to face the sea again and then she walked away. She was really hurt by all of this and Zac was too.

* * *

Evie and Zac walked out of class where something really strange happened to her.

"What just happened back there?" Zac asked completely confused.

"I have no idea." She responded.

"Evie, how do you feel?" Mimmi asked as she approached them out of the blue.

"Why do you wanna know?" Evie asked the mermaid curiously.

"Ondina and I tried a long-distance spell on you to try and get your tail back." Mimmi responded.

"Nice plan for crazy dance moves in class." Cam responded sarcastically to the brunette mermaid.

"You didn't think to ask me first?" Evie asked keeping her calm.

"There was no time." Mimmi responded.

"Come on. Let's see if it worked." Zac said with a hint of hope in his voice.

The gang all walked towards a place where they could have privacy.

"I'm so sorry, Evie. I didn't mean to embarrass you in class." Mimmi apologized to her brother's girlfriends. For a moment, Evie had the slightest bit of hope that it had worked.

"If this works, all is forgiven." Evie answered with hope and a smile.

"Ready?" Zac asked his girlfriend.

Evie nodded. "Ok."

Zac proceeded to use his water bottle to wet Evie's hand.

They all looked at each other when they realised it didn't work.

"Thank you for trying." Evie said realizing once more that her mermaid life was over.

* * *

"Evie." Wei Lan apologetically. "I'm so sorry."

Evie just smiled and hugged her.

"You know, it's strange. I feel like a weight lifted from my shoulders." Evie said to the Chinese mermaid.

Then, Evie looked at her right hand. She took the moon ring of her index finger and turned to Rita. She looked at the ring once more and then looked at Rita.

"This belongs to the pod." She said as she handed Rita the moon ring that was destined for her.

"Don't get me wrong. Being a mermaid was a dream come true and I'll miss having a tail." Evie said.

"And we'll miss having you to swim with us." Mimmi said to Evie.

"Who says I can't swim with you?" Evie asked her boyfriend's sister. "I'm a pretty good diver, you know."

"The best." Zac added.

"Is that so?" Ondina challenged.

"And she's always been fast." Zac said. "In the water."

"I bet you can't beat us to Mako." Mimmi said playfully.

"Mm. Two words: speed boat." Evie said.

They all just laughed and hugged Evie.

* * *

Evie walked on the dock wearing her pink and blue wet suit and her blue bikini. She was determined to go see her dad and asked him to go on the dive with him.

"Chosen your dive buddy, yet?" Evie asked her father.

"What's this? You got nothing else planned for tonight?" Doug asked suspiciously since he hadn't gone on a dive with Evie for about a year.

"Well, I did have few offers, but none quite as good as a night dive with the old man." Evie said to tease her father.

Doug just smiled at her.

"Permission to come aboard?" Evie asked.

"Permission granted." Doug said enthusiastically as he hugged his daughter.

* * *

"Maybe Ms. Trumble won't be as bad as we think." David said to convince everyone, including himself, as he brought juices for everyone.

David, Cam, Evie and Zac were all sitting together outside the ocean café and they were all depressed.

"Are you kidding?" Cam asked. "She'll be worse."

"How could Rita quit on us?" Zac asked, sad that the oldest mermaid gave up her job as the principal at Suncoast High.

"I don't think you should see it like that." Evie said to her boyfriend looking bitter. "And I think I know why."

"Enlighten us, please." Cam demanded.

"There's nothing harder than being caught between two worlds. Eventually, one of them has to win." Evie said reflecting not only on Rita's choice, but also on what happened to her.

* * *

 **Can you guess what this is going to be about? I know this chapter is not really important or eventful, but the second part should be up in the next 24 hours.**


	2. Part 2

**Another Chance  
Part 2**

The alarm went off in Evie's room like any other school days. Finals were approaching and she needed to be as focused as she needed in school, so that's why she maximised her sleeping time and getting up at exactly 7:25. It gave her exactly nine hours of sleep if she went to bed at 10:25 at night which was her normal routine at the end of the school year to be in the best shape she could.

It had been a full moon cycle since Mimmi broke the spell on Nerissa and everything went back to normal. The full moon didn't cause any more trouble and the gang was truly happy about that.

She stopped the alarm and got up feeling refreshed. She didn't know why, but she felt really different that morning. She felt like that day was going to be an important day in her life, but she had no idea why.

She walked downstairs to get her usual breakfast: a bowl of cereal and fresh fruits, depending on the season, and she greeted her dad.

Since the end of her mermaid days, she had gotten closer to her father. They started doing more father-daughter activities and they dove together a lot. She didn't realize how much she missed those moments with her dad. Being a mermaid might have been an amazing experience and she was devastated when she lost it all, but it also had a positive side: not lying to her father anymore.

Once she was done with her healthy meal, she walked back upstairs to the bathroom to get a shower like she always does. She had chosen a normal pink tank top and some jeans shorts to match. She really liked fashion, but she never went overboard. She knew how to look stylish, but not like she tried too hard like some other girls.

She opened the tap and adjusted the water to the right temperature. She walked under the spraying water to wet her hair. After a couple of seconds, she felt a weird tingling feeling in her legs. Another couple of seconds later, she was laying flat on the ground.

"What the…?" She asked herself as to why she fell on the floor of the shower. She knew that feeling though. She didn't want to believe it, but she remembered that feeling. It was way too familiar. She turned around only to glare at the golden tail that replaced her legs.

"Evie, are you alright?" The brunette heard her father ask through the door. "I heard a crashing noise."

"Yes, I'm totally fine dad. I just dropped a shampoo bottle." She lied. It was scary how lying came easily once you had a mermaid tail waiting to be discovered.

"Are you sure? It sounded more than just that." He said.

"Yes. I'm perfectly fine, dad." She lied again.

She was not fine at all. She was supposed to have lost her tail forever. Why was it back? She thought it might have been a one-time thing. Was its only purpose to ruin her life? Of course, she liked having a tail, but she had just accepted that it was gone forever.

She dragged herself out of the shower to dry her tail ad gain her legs again, but she realized the shower was still on. She instinctively raised her hand and used magic to make the water stop.

"I have magic again?" She asked herself quietly. "How?"

That was the only question that popped in her head: how was her tail back?

Realizing that her powers were back, she used them to dry herself and she walked straight to her room. She needed to talk to Zac. No. She needed to talk to Nerissa. She was the one that took her tail away in the first place.

She took her phone off her nightstand and pressed the speed dial button, which was Zac.

"Hey, Evie." He responded after two rings.

"I need to get in touch with your mother." She said very fast and nervously.

"Why don't you just come and see her?" Zac asked confused.

"Because Lauren is not the mother I want to see." Evie said.

"You want to talk to Nerissa?" Zac asked completely confused.

"Yes." She said.

"Why?" Zac asked.

"I just do." She said. She didn't want to tell him right away in case it was just a one-time thing.

"Evie, what's wrong?" He asked suspiciously.

"I've got my tail back." She said quickly.

"What?" Zac asked confused, but without he could say anything else, Evie asked him about Nerissa's whereabouts and he responded she should be somewhere near Mako Island.

"Great. I'll talk to you later. Bye." She said quickly.

Zac hung up completely confused by how his girlfriend acted.

"What just happened?" He thought to himself trying to analyse the information she just gave him.

Evie, on the other hand, walked out of the house and headed for the jetty behind it. She ran and dove into the water hoping her tail would appear and it did. She smiled and swam as fast as she could towards Mako. She was amazed by how naturally it all came back. It was like she never lost her tail at all.

She swam to the most familiar place of the island: the moon pool. She surfaced in it about ten minutes later only to find it empty.

"Where could she be?" Evie asked herself.

Just as she turned around to exit the moon pool, someone entered it. Luckily for her it was exactly the person she wanted to see.

"Nerissa!" Evie exclaimed.

"Hi." Nerissa responded awkwardly since the girl looked a little too eager to see her. "Wait, you're Evie."

"Indeed." The newfound mermaid responded.

"How are you even here? I thought I took your tail away. I'm still very sorry about that." Nerissa asked staring at Evie's newfound tail.

"That's why I needed to see you." Evie responded simply. "You're the one that took it away. Don't you know why it's back?"

"I wish I could help you, Evie, but I have no idea." Nerissa answered honestly.

"Is there anything you can remember about the legend of the Jiao Long dragon?" Evie asked expectantly.

"No. I'm sorry." Nerissa answered.

"What about spells?" Evie asked.

"What about spells?" Nerissa asked Evie.

"Northern mermaids know way more spells than mermaids here and they are more powerful. Doesn't anything about the spells you learnt back in Canada apply to this situation?" Evie asked another question.

"I don't know and this particular spell was created in the Eastern pod. Northern mermaids don't know much about it." Nerissa answered honestly.

"Can't you dig anything up?" Evie asked. She really wanted to know what was going on. She did not want to give her hopes up for nothing. What if it was just for a day or something?

"Well, I think there might be something." Nerissa said.

"Really?" Evie answered enthusiastically.

"Normally, when a spell is broken all of its effects should be erased too, but that's for simpler spells I think, not for the spell I was under."

"What if it was the same thing? It means every mermaid you've ever taken their tail away should have it back." Evie stated.

"Maybe, but the effects should be erased as soon as the spell is broken. It's been a month since all of this happened. Beside, it was so long ago since I destroyed Wei Lan's pod that all of the mermaids would be dead now…" Nerissa answered hurting.

"Nerissa, you weren't yourself. It's not your fault that the Eastern pod was destroyed. Althoug, following that logic, that makes me the only mermaid still alive that suffered the consequences of your curse." Evie said. "Maybe that's why no one thought I could get my tail back." Evie supposed.

"Maybe." Nerissa said.

"I'll go ask Wei Lan about it. She's the one who seems to know the most about the whole curse." Evie said to Zac's mother.

"Good idea. I'll look for answers on my side." Nerissa said to the land girl.

"Thank you." Evie said and she swam back to the shores to reach the grotto.

* * *

Evie reached the pool in Rita's grotto in a record time. She dragged herself out of the pool and used her power to dry her tail. She stood and walked directly to the biggest room of the grotto only to find Wei Lan sitting with Poseidon on her lap.

"Hey Wei Lan." Evie greeted the Chinese mermaid.

"Evie, what are you doing here?" Wei Lan asked.

"I need to talk to you." Evie said seriously.

"About what?" The young mermaid asked.

"The Jiao Long dragon. I need to know about what happened after the bracelet was used and the dragon was turned back into a water spirit." Evie explained.

"There's nothing more to tell after that." Wei Lan said.

"Are you sure? What happens to the mermaids who lost their tail?" Evie asked.

"Why are you so interested in this?" Wei Lan asked.

Evie breathed in. "I've got my tail and my magic back."

"What? That is impossible." Wei Lan exclaimed.

"I just went to see Nerissa in the moon pool and she doesn't know why it's back." Evie admitted.

"This has to be some trick." Wei Lan said.

"It's not. If you don't believe me, I'll show you." Evie said confidently.

Evie motioned for Wei Lan to follow her and they walked to the pool in the grotto. Evie jumped in as soon as she was close enough.

Wei Lan's eyes widened at the sight of Evie's golden tail.

"I can't believe this." Wei Lan exclaimed. "I'll bring you to Uncle Shen and we can ask him questions."

"Thank you, Wei Lan." Evie thanked the Chinese mermaid.

Wei Lan also jumped in the pool and they swam to the secluded beach the nearest to the small market where Uncle Shen's shop is. He might just be a seller in a small market, but he knew an awful lot about magic, legends and curses.

Wei Lan entered first as the beaded curtain in the door of the shop tingled.

"Ah. Wei Lan." Uncle Shen exclaimed happily. "How are you doing today?" He asked in his normal cheery voice.

"I'm well Uncle Shen. How about you?" She asked the old Chinese man.

"I'm great. The music box is working and I made to sells this morning."

"Great." Wei Lan replied.

"How might this be?" The man asked as he pointed towards Evie.

"This is my friend Evie." She answered.

"Nice to meet you, Evie." The Chinese man said as he shook Evie's hand. "What can I do for you today?"

"Well." Wei Lan started. "Evie was very interested in the Jiao Long dragon legend and I told her you'd be happy to tell her everything you know."

"Come here." Uncle Shen gestured as he walked towards the painting representing the dragon.

"It's beautiful." Evie stated in awe.

Uncle Shen explained every detail he knew about Jiao Long, from how it terrorised people to how a water spirit could defeat it. Evie and Wei Lan listened carefully making sure they would not miss any detail. Uncle Shen ended his story right after Jiao Long was defeated.

"What happened when Jiao Long was defeated?" Evie asked. To Uncle Shen, she just seemed very interested in the story, but Evie was trying to get him to talk about the consequences of the break of the curse.

"No one knows for sure. Although, some old Chinese saying say: _When it is gone, it comes back. The new, the half and the full: patience will help retrieve what was once lost._ I'm not sure what it means, but that's the end of the legend of the Jiao Long dragon." The man said to the two mermaids.

"Thank you very much Uncle Shen." Wei Lan responded. "We'll be going now."

"Come back for tea anytime." He said with a smile plastered on his face.

" _When it is gone, it comes back. The new, the half and the full: patience will help retrieve what was once lost._ " Evie repeated to remember it. "Do you have any ideas what it means?"

"Not really. When it's gone, it comes back? That doesn't make any sense. Is that supposed to mean that when something is gone, the same something comes back or that when something is gone another something comes back? And what about the new, the half and the full? What is that supposed to mean? I'm so confused." The Chinese mermaid said. "And why patience? If you want something to come back, you have to work for it, not wait for it."

"Ugh. This is so frustrating." Evie whined.

"I'll go see Nerissa and talk to her about it." Evie said.

"I'll come with you." Wei Lan suggested.

"It's okay. I'll be fine on my own." Evie responded.

"Alright then. Give me news as soon as you can."

* * *

"Nerissa!" Evie shouted in one of the lagoons around Mako Island.

The mermaid had dived into the water as soon as she separated from Wei Lan. She needed to talk to Nerissa about this. Maybe she would have found something out. She hoped so. She shouted Nerissa's name again, but she wasn't in sight. Even the pod was not in sight.

Where could they be? Evie though to herself.

The half-mermaid half-land girl swam to the other side of the island and she noticed that the pod was there. The entrance to the moon pool was also near, so she decided to swim in to take a break.

When she opened her eyes and took a look at the moon pool, she noticed that one mermaid was there, but it was not the mermaid she wanted to see.

"Evie?" She asked shocked. "How are you even here?"

"I got my tail back." Evie stated.

"Obviously. I mean, how?" She asked Evie.

"I don't know. I was taking a shower this morning and it reappeared."

"Well, that is very strange." She stated thoughtful.

"Do you know where Nerissa is?" Evie asked.

"I'm sorry." She answered.

"Please, Veridia. Are you sure you have no idea where she is?" Evie asked.

"I'm the head of the council; I should be able to help you, not her." Veridia said.

"Well, do you know anything about the Jiao Long dragon, or the curse that was put on Nerissa? She is the one that was turned into the dragon. She must be able to help me. I just want to know why this happened." Evie explained to the mermaid.

"No. I'm sorry." Veridia said realizing that she was no help.

"I think Nerissa might have gone to see her son." Veridia said.

"Thank you." Evie smiled and swam towards Zac's bungalow.

* * *

Evie swam as fast as she could towards the jetty behind Zac's house. If she was lucky, Nerissa would be there. Evie swam a couple of long minutes before reaching what appeared to be the jetty. She pulled herself on it with all of her strength and dragged herself on the wooden planks above her. She used magic to dry her tail and get her legs back. She realised that she had missed all of that, a lot.

She walked towards Zac's bungalow and knocked on the door expecting to find Zac and maybe even Nerissa.

"Evie, I'm so glad to see you." Zac greeted as he pulled her in for a hug.

"How are you?" He asked when they pulled away.

"Well, as I said earlier, I got my tail back." Evie said to her boyfriend.

"Do you know why?" Zac asked curiously.

"I was hoping to find Nerissa here to ask her more questions about it. We went to see Uncle Shen at the market, but what he told us left us with more questions." Evie explained to Zac who was still trying to analyse the fact that Evie had her tail back. Honestly, he was thrilled.

"She left about fifteen minutes ago. I think she went to Rita's." Zac responded.

"Great, I'll go see her." Evie said.

"I'm coming with you. I wanna know what happened too." Zac stated.

* * *

"So, I went to see the man that seemed to know everything about the curse that was put on you and he told me something that I cannot decipher. Maybe you could help us." Evie said to her kind of mother-in-law.

"What did her say?" She asked curiously.

"He told us the legend ended with a sort of riddle. I wrote it down." Evie said as she unfolded a paper and handed it to Nerissa.

" _When it is gone, it comes back. The new, the half and the full: patience will help retrieve what was once lost._ " Nerissa read out loud. "That is interesting."

"Do you know what it means? It confuses me." Evie said.

"So, this is about getting back something that was lost obviously and that patience is needed to retrieve that thing." Nerissa started to say.

"What about the first part?" Evie asked.

"Hum… The new, the half and the full. That's the measurement of time used in that riddle." Nerissa said.

"Yeah." Zac added. "Wait, aren't those terms to define the different state of the moon?"

"Yes. The new moon, the half-moon and the full moon. That's the equivalent of a moon cycle." Nerissa said.

"So, to retrieve something that was lost, you have to wait a whole moon cycle." Evie said.

"That seems right." Zac said confidently.

"So, when something is gone, something comes back after a moon cycle." Nerissa repeated.

"What needs to be gone?" Zac asked.

"The dragon!" Evie exclaimed.

"When the dragon is gone, the tail and the magic comes back after a moon cycle." Evie said. "When was the last full moon?"

"Last night." Nerissa answered.

"It all makes sense. The dragon disappeared a moon cycle ago and I got back what I lost." Evie said to the mother and her son.

"I guess that's the explication that makes the more sense." Nerissa said.

"Do you think that it will be forever?" Evie asked suddenly scared to lose everything again.

"I don't know, dear." Nerissa said sympathetically. " I guess we'll have to wait and see."

"Great." Evie said with a smile.

"Evie, this is fantastic. I can't wait to go swimming with you again." Zac said enthusiastically as he hugged her.

Nerissa smiled at the sight of the young couple that could only remind her of herself when she fell in love with Zac and Mimmi's father.

* * *

 **Sooooo, that was the second part. There is going to be a third part coming out before July (sooner I hope). I hope you liked it and I want to thank you all for the reviews, the favorites and the follows. You are all awesome readers.**

 **I had grown kinda obsessed with Evie's character when she first got her tail and I thought it was really said when she lost it. I thought it was a cheap way for the show to show the effects of the dragon without taking any of the real mermaids' tail away. I thing Evie deserved to have it back. The next part is going to be about Evie trying to adjust her present life to her mermaid tail.**


	3. Part 3

**Another Chance  
Part 3**

The night before, Evie had gone for a swim with her boyfriend. She felt like swimming that way helped her calm down before the exams. She was pretty stressed and nothing helped more than a swim. She never realized how she missed the feeling of freedom when it's just her and the ocean. As Zac said before, when you're in the ocean; there is no homework, no parents, no jobs, etc. When you're in the ocean, you let go of every human responsibility you are stuck with and you can just be yourself. That was the best feeling in the world.

The other mermaids all learned about what happened to Evie and how she got her tail back. In a weird way, Veridia looked relieved. The truth was, since Evie lost her tail, Veridia was scared Evie would blab about mermaids since it didn't affect her anymore. She knew she wouldn't do that now since she has her tail back. Veridia was more worried about Nerissa than Evie.

The alarm went off in Evie's room like it did every other morning before school. She had skipped school the day before just like Wei Lan and Zac did after the reveal. It wasn't such a bad thing since it was only revision and there weren't any exams.

She couldn't concentrate on school though; the mermaid part of herself was way more interesting.

Evie straightened her left arm and tried to shut her alarm. She ended up making it fall on the floor, but it didn't stop. She lazily got on her feet and leaned down to grab it and shut it.

She walked down the stairs and headed for the kitchen to eat breakfast. She opened the fridge and got a bowl of prawns. It felt natural to her to eat that. She saw down at the kitchen table and started to eat when her father walked in.

"Morning, Sweetheart." Doug said happily.

"Morning, dad." Evie responded while she took the shell off another prawn and put it in her mouth.

Doug did a double take realizing Evie wasn't eating her usual breakfast.

"Why are you eating prawns?" Doug asked completely clueless.

"I just felt like it." Evie responded it was the mermaid side of her that made her do that.

"Okay…" Doug said suspiciously. "Anyway, I'm very excited for tonight."

Evie's eyes widened. She had no idea what he was talking about.

Getting that her daughter looked confused, Doug explained himself.

"Our weekly father-daughter night dive." He said to his daughter. "Don't tell me you forgot?"

She had forgotten about that, because of the recent development.

"It's not that, I promised Zac I would help him study biology tonight since the exams are very soon." She lied easily and it scared her how easy it was for her. "I'm sorry, dad."

"It's okay, Evie. I understand. The school year is almost over and you need to do your best during the exams." Doug said.

"Thanks, dad." Evie said with a weak smile.

After that small conversation, Evie's dad left the house for another day full of dives. Evie, on the other hand, was pretty much frozen in place with wide eyes.

One thing she was happy about when she lost her tail was that she could do more father-daughter activities and get closer to her dad. Now that it was history, she would have to drift away from him again as well as lie so often it will become second nature.

At that moment, she was devastated. It was all over, again.

Her eyes were glassy now and a tear might have escaped her right eye.

She walked outside and sat on the jetty behind her house looking straight at the canal.

How could something so incredible and magical bring her such happiness and yet such sadness?

She had meant it when they were talking about Rita's choice to leave the school. You cannot be caught between two worlds eternally; one of them had to take over to the loss of the other.

Evie couldn't imagine being able to balance those two worlds without creating problems or being in trouble herself. She cannot just go to the sea. She doesn't belong there. She was not born a mermaid, but she couldn't live away from the ocean anymore since being a mermaid was a part of her.

This is so frustrating. Evie thought to herself as more tears poured down her face.

Without looked back, she jumped in the canal and swam to Zac's place. What she didn't know was that her father had come back because he forgot his wallet and saw her dive in. He wasn't expecting her to surface, but she never did. A bit panicked, he ran to the jetty and looked into the water. Far away, he could see a shape that pretty much looked like a human swimming away.

"Wow, she has improved her swimming." Doug whispered to himself still having a weird feeling about this. Why did she jump in fully clothed? Isn't she supposed to go to school? That did not make sense. He decided to shake it off since he needed to get to work.

A couple of seconds later, Evie made it to Zac's bungalow. School only started in an hour and a half, so they had time to talk.

Evie stormed into the bungalow, which only startled Zac.

"I hate being a mermaid." She shouted.

Zac looked at her with a mix of surprise and disappointment. It was his life and he loved every single parts of it. How could she not?

Zac sat down on one of the couches in his room and motioned for Evie to sit down too.

"What's wrong?" Zac asked after a couple of long seconds to give Evie time to calm down.

"It's ruining my life." She said with a cracked voice. Zac embraced her and held her close.

"What happened?" Zac whispered in her ear. Evie pulled away and took a deep breath.

"I just don't want to be a mermaid anymore." She said to the merman.

"You were thrilled yesterday that you got your tail back." Zac stated obviously confused.

"I didn't realize what it would make me do." She said.

Zac looked at her puzzled.

"I had to cancel plans with my dad because of my freaking tail." Evie said.

"So, that's why you're mad." Zac stated as he understood her sudden mood swing.

"Yes." She said. "I don't want to be caught between two worlds again. It's impossible to live in both at the same time."

"Evie." Zac said as he took one of her hands between his. "I've been doing this for years now and everything is great."

"That's not the same. You were born a merman. That's the world you live in." She defended.

"No, it's not. I'd be living like Eric if I lived like a merman." Zac stated and that left Evie quiet for a couple of seconds.

"Evie, I might have been born a merman, but I am living a double life on land. I've never had to choose between two worlds. I just chose the best of both worlds." **(1)** Zac said to his girlfriend.

"But you are a real merman. I don't belong in the sea. I'm not a real mermaid." Evie said.

"Do you have a tail?" Zac asked.

"Yes." Evie said confused by the question.

"Do you have magic?" Zac asked.

"Yes." Evie repeated.

"Can you breathe underwater?" Zac asked.

"Yes." Evie said for the third time.

"Those are all the qualifications to being a real mermaid." Zac said.

"You forgot one." Evie said dryly.

"What?" Zac asked.

"Being born in the sea and belonging to a pod." Evie said.

"Evie… You might not have been born in the sea, but you belong with the Mako pod. You were the first land girl to receive a moon ring from a mermaid council. I believe that qualifies you." Zac said to his girlfriend.

"I just don't understand how I can get the best of both worlds **(1)** if I have to lie to the people I love." Evie said.

"Then don't." Zac said.

"You want me to tell people I'm a mermaid?" E vie asked surprised.

"I know you're talking about your dad. Your best friend knows about you, my best friend knows about you, David knows about you, the mermaids know about you, my parents know the whole story; the only person who doesn't know is your dad." Zac explained to the mermaid.

"You want me to tell my dad?" Evie asked.

"Why not? I told my parents and they took it surprisingly well. They even invite Nerissa and Mimmi for lunch every week. I'm sure your dad will understand. You won't have to lie anymore."

"I'm not sure." Evie said.

"That's the only reason you say you're caught between two worlds, I'm sure of it." Zac said confidently.

"Yeah, probably." Evie answered.

"I'm sure you'll feel better once you tell him." Zac said.

Evie stayed quiet for a couple of minutes and when she spoke up again, her question startled Zac.

"Do you ever think about what your life would be if you just lived at sea and gave up living on land?" She asked.

"Every day of my life since I first became a merman." Zac admitted easily.

"I mean, there would be no school, no money, no job and no responsibilities." Evie said.

"I know, but it would also mean no parents and no friends on land." Zac said.

"You see, you cannot balance those two worlds." Evie said.

Zac sighed at his girlfriend's persistence.

"I don't want to choose between both. I've been living in both since I first got my tail and I love my life." Zac said. "I wouldn't want it any other way."

"It's hard." Evie admitted. "I want a future in management, but the sea is calling to me at the same time."

"I know, Evie. I'm also attracted to the sea, but I don't want to give up everything I've accomplished on land and every single person I love." Zac said.

"I know." She said.

"So, are you gonna tell your dad?" Zac asked.

"I think I will." Evie said. "Tonight."

"That soon?" Zac asked.

"Yes. I told him I couldn't go on the dive with him. We used to do this just the two of us. I'll tell him you cancelled and go with him and I'll explain everything on the boat." Evie said.

"That's very courageous of you. What if you get sprayed with water on the boat?" Zac asked.

"It's big enough. I won't." Evie said confidently.

"Alright then. Call me once you told him. We've got to get to school now." Zac said.

The couple left the bungalow and left for another day of revision.

* * *

Evie was quietly sitting in the kitchen doing her math homework waiting for her dad to come home. She was shaking from apprehension. She was really scared about her dad's reaction. For Zac's parents, it made sense because he was adopted, but for her, it all just relies on magic and she's not sure her dad is going to like that.

She was trying and trying to solve an algebra problem when her dad finally walked in. She froze in fear for a couple of seconds. She took a deep breath.

"Hey, dad." Evie said with a weak smile.

"Hey, darling." Doug responded. "Aren't you supposed to be at Zac's?" He asked his daughter.

"He cancelled on me." Evie said. "So, I thought we could still go diving."

"Yeah, sure, why not?" Doug responded. Evie was both relieved and anxious about her father's answer. "Are you okay? You look pale."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just a bit tired." Evie answered.

"It's not a good idea to dive if you are this tired." Doug said.

"I'm fine, dad. I really want to go." Evie said lying through gritted teeth. She was nervous, anxious and terrified.

"Okay. Anyway, we are both experts in diving." Doug said with a genuine smile.

Evie and Doug at their supper and chitchatted about anything and everything. Evie had calmed down a bit, but she was still very apprehensive. When the time came to leave the house and go on the boat. Evie asked to go diving at Mako Island's mangrove since it was a secluded spot and the pod didn't hung around that place much.

Doug finally stopped and threw the anchor in the water. He then prepared all of the diving gear they needed for the dive.

"Don't prepare mine." Evie demanded knowing there was no going back now.

"You don't want to dive?" Doug asked.

"I do want to dive. I meant I won't need it." Evie said.

"How come? You won't be able to dive very deep." Doug responded.

"Dad..." Evie started. "I didn't just ask you to come here to dive. There is something very important that I need to tell you." Evie said.

"What is it? Are you okay?" Doug asked suddenly concerned about his daughter's behavior.

"I'm fine." Evie said.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yes." Evie said. "But you've got to promise that you won't get mad."

"Get mad? You're not pregnant, are you?" Doug asked.

"Of course not, but this is something even more improbable." Evie said.

"Remember that time when I wouldn't go on dives or swim with you anymore?" Evie asked. She saw hurt flash through her father's eyes.

"Of course." He answered on a melancholic tone.

"It wasn't because I did not want to go. Something happened to me about a year ago and I couldn't go in the water or I'd risk the biggest secret of my life."

"You're scaring me." Doug said as he sat down on a chair. Evie copied his actions.

"So, about a year ago, I ended up in a cave on Mako Island under the full moon. Something magical happened at that moment and it changed my life forever." Evie explained carefully.

"What happened?" Doug asked.

"It turned me into a mermaid." Evie stated and her father laughed.

"I'm sorry, what?" Doug asked.

"You heard right." Evie said.

"A mermaid, really?" Doug said.

"Yes and that's why I asked you to come here, so I could show you." Evie said seriously.

"Wait, you said it happened a year ago, but until a couple of days ago, you won't on dives with me and you did not have a mermaid tail." Doug said confused.

"My powers were taken away by a water dragon. We broke the spell on it and it gave me back my powers." Evie said.

"Too much information at once. A water dragon?" Doug asked.

"I know it sounds crazy, but it's the truth." She responded to her dad.

"Wait, we?" Doug asked.

"It's a complicated story, but there are lots of mermaids and mermen in the waters around here and you know one very well." Evie said.

"I don't know a mermaid." Doug said.

"True, you don't know a mermaid, you know a merman: Zac." Evie said.

"What? Zac is a merman?" Doug asked.

"Yes, he was born one." Evie said.

"Evie, this is ridiculous." Doug said. "Why are you making up such stories?"

"You don't believe me?" Evie asked. "I'll show you."

Evie walked to the edge of the boat and prepared herself to dive. She looked back at her dad for a split second and dove in. Doug followed right behind her to make sure her daughter was alright. When she swam back up Doug froze in place as soon as he saw her tail.

"Do you believe me now?" Evie asked.

"I-I, erm, I do." Doug finally managed to say. "It's because of him; did he turn you into a mermaid?"

"No, he didn't. It was just a matter of being at the wrong place at the wrong time." Evie answered honestly.

"You mentioned powers earlier, what's that?" Doug asked.

"I have magical powers principally over the weather and water." Evie answered.

"Wow, this is incredible." Doug exclaimed.

"Why don't you join me?" Evie asked. "I could show spots around Mako you've never seen before."

"Sure." Her father said with a genuine smile.

Doug put on all the equipment he needed to dive and walked to the edge of the boat. He sat on it and let himself fall backwards. Evie dove in the water as soon as he did. He looked at her completely stunned. It made sense now to why she jumped in the canal fully clothed earlier that day.

He looked at his daughter in awe. She was so graceful and beautiful as a mermaid under the water.

She showed him small caves and all sorts of species living around Mako that a diver wouldn't normally notice.

Doug was still completely shocked when they climbed back on the boat and she dried her tail using magic.

"I can't believe this." Doug said. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I was getting used to the idea of being a mermaid and when I was used to it, I lost it all." Evie said. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you until today. I was scared."

"Why?" Doug asked a bit hurt.

"Being a mermaid is a pretty big deal and the pod doesn't want human to know about it so I kinda lived by the idea." Evie admitted.

"I'm your father; you know you can tell me anything." Doug stated.

"I know and I'm sorry. It was hard to accept the fact that I am now half mermaid and half human." Evie said to her father. "You'll keep this a secret, right?"

"Of course sweetheart. Scientists and media would abuse you if the found out." Doug said.

"Thank you, dad." Evie said. Her father reached for a hug, but she rejected it.

"I'll pretend I'm not hurt." Her dad said bitterly.

"It's not that. You're wet. If I touch water, I get my tail and I don't feel like getting my tail on the boat." Evie explained as her father's facial expression softened.

"I guess that makes sense." Doug said.

"So, you're not mad?" Evie asked carefully.

"No, I'm just glad you told me the truth." Doug said.

"I really wish I could hug you right now." Evie said and they both laughed.

* * *

"I heard you wanted to see me." Evie said as she entered the grotto.

"Not exactly." Ondina responded as Mimmi stood beside her and Rita, Zac and Wei Lan arrived from the house in the grotto.

"Then why am I here?" Evie asked.

"Because Veridia wanted to talk to you." Ondina said as she stepped aside to reveal Veridia sitting behind the desk in Rita's grotto.

"Veridia, what a surprise." Evie said. "It's always nice to see you."

"Likewise." Veridia said politely. "I just wanted to let you know that since you've got your tail back, you are a member of the pod and will always be welcomed amongst us."

"Thank you, Veridia. This is a real honor coming from you." Evie responded happily.

"And since you are a member of the pod and mermaids your age have moon rings, I'm giving it back to you." Veridia said as she took a sea shell and opened it to reveal the silver ring with the blue stone.

"Thank you so much, Veridia. I promise I will learn to use it efficiently and intelligently." Evie said as the older mermaid stood and walked towards her to put the moon ring on her finger.

"I'm sure you will. Rita and Ondina will be happy to teach you." Veridia said.

Evie smiled and turned around to hug Zac.

"Well, I should go back to the pod, I have an important meeting." Veridia said as she left the grotto through the pool.

"I can't believe I got it back." Evie said enthusiastically.

"I told you it was possible to get the best of both worlds." **(1)** Zac said as he winked at his girlfriend.

The other mermaids were really happy Evie had gotten her tail back. She was one of them and losing her was hard for all of them.

* * *

 **Well, that was the last part of Another Chance. Thank you all so much for the follows, favorites and reviews. It really means a lot to me. I hope you enjoyed this story and I promise there is more to come throughout the summer.**

 **(1) Sorry, I couldn't resist.**


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